Railway car truck and body mounting



May 1, 1951 P. LAUKUS, SR

RAILWAY CAR TRUCK AND BODY MOUNTING 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 28, 1947 INVENTOR. Paul Lauku5,5r:

ATTORN EYS.

y 1951 P. LAUKUS, SR 2,551,443

' RAILWAY CAR TRUCK AND BODY MOUNTING 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 28, 1947 FIG.V3.

INVENTOR.

Paul Laukua, 5r.

ATTORNEYS.

y 1951 P. LAUKUS, SR 2,551,443

RAILWAY CAR TRUCK AND BODY MOUNTING Filed March 28, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 5.

'53 1 W5 53 y x .54 S r 4 r2 56 w FIG. 6.

5 Him 47 INVENTOR.

Paul Laukus 5rt ATTORN EYS.

Patented May l, 1951 UNITED STATES FATEENT OFFECE RAILWAY CAR TRUCK AND BODY MUUNTING Application March 28, 1947, Serial No. 737,755

' Claims. 1

The present invention relates to railway car body and truck mountings and is particularly Well adapted for use in the manufacture of mine or industrial railway cars which must frequently travel over irregular tracks.

In mines, for instance, the tracks are often irregular, due to wet road beds, caused by poor drainage, low joints, loose ballast, heaving bottoms, grade subsidence and careless or hurried installation. The main line haulage road is usually maintained in fair condition, but secondary haulage roads are often poorly maintained, and the track in working sections is temporary and is continually being moved due to changing the location of the working fan. It may therefore be observed that the problems involved. in providing efficient body and truck mounting for industrial railway cars are not the same those encountered in the production and use of cars used for passenger and freight haulage on surface railways which are usually maintained in excellent condition.

The principal object of the invention is to provide mountings each including side bearing rollers, companion wear plates therefor and a combined rocker and kingpin device associated with the car body and truck, constructed and arranged in such manner that the truck may rock about a horizontal axis to adapt itself to uneven track, pivot about an upright axis as when rounding curves and swing as well as oscillate as when rounding a curve and traveling over irregular track, still permitting the load to come upon the side bearing rollers and wear plates during such movements.

Another object is to provide a railway car truck and body mounting which is simple in construction and hence inexpensive to manufacture and maintain in good repair, and which does not require the use of expensive side bearing rollers and companion wear plates, since the invention permits the use of rollers of uniform diameter in contradistinction to tapered rollers, and flat wear plates in contradistinc'tion to concaved wear plates.

A further object is to provide in mine cars, truck and body mountings which allow such flexibility that the number of derailments is reduced to a minimum, thus contributing much to good road ability of the cars.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, taken in connection with the accompanying 2 drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which drawings: I

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a car embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same, portions of the truck being broken away and shown in section to disclose preferred details.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of one end portion of the car with a portion of the deck plate or car body bottom broken away to disclose preferred details, and showing by dotted lines and dotand dash lines two different positions which the truck may take with respect to the car body.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on substahtially the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the central portion of Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. I

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the relative position of parts of the mounting when the truck has been moved from a normal position to one where it is tilted about a horisci-ital rocking pin.

The invention is disclosed applied to a mine car comprising a body unit If] and truck units It, the body unit and each truck unit being connected to a mounting assembly I2, with side bearing rollers 13 and companion wear plates it functioning to mainly sustain a portion of the load upon each truck.

The body unit may be of any suitable construction and shape, and in the example shown r includes a deck plate 15 beneath which is located a central longitudinally extending channel member iii located with its web l l uppermost and its flanges [8- extending downwardly therefrom, providing a downwardly or bottom opening channel and laterally extending channel members it extending to each side of member i8 and normal thereto, each with its web 26 uppermost in engagement with the deck plate l5, and its flanges 2! extending downwardly therefrom.

Likewise truck unit it may be of any suitable designbut in the example shown embodies features of the railway car truck shown in my copending application, filed March 28, 1947, Serial No. 737,75 which has since matured in Patent 2,513,266, June 27, 1950. It suffices to state that, in the example shown, the truck unit H comprises a frame 23 made mainly of a bolster 24, including a web 25, upstanding longitudinal flanges 2% providing an upwardly opening channel 2'! and depending longitudinal flanges 28 providing a downwardly opening channel 29, as shown more particularly in Figs. 4 and 6 and side frames 30 at each end of the bolster; axles 3| extending crosswise of and guided in up and down movement by the end portions of the side frames and provided with track wheels 32; and spring mountings 33 interposed between the axles and portions of the side frames. Such a truck construction allows the wheels and axles to move relative to the frame 24 to some small extent responsive to small declivities and humps in rails of track upon which the Wheels ride, and small depressions adjacent switch frogs, but is not intended to avoid wheel flange wear when rounding curves, or strains incident to passage of the car over pronounced declivities and humps.

The side bearing rollers [3 are each, in the example shown, supported by the bolster 24 as by having a dead axle 35, the ends of which are sustained in openings 35 of spaced cross stiffening plates 3? extending upwardly from web 25 between flanges 25 in channel 2'1, these plates 31 providing an upwardly opening chamber 38 in which the major portion of the roller [3 is located with its axis 33 extending longitudinally of the bolster as shown in Fig. 4. The rollers [3 are of course coaxial, have fixed axes of rotation with respect to the truck unit, and may be made at a low cost from cylindrical stock of uniform diameter.

The wear plates l4 are preferably immovably secured to the bottoms of the flanges 2| of channel members I!) as by welds 4D. The plates are flat at least throughout the zones of contact of their respective rollers therewith throughout pivotal movement of the truck unit with respect to the body unit. Hence they may be made from very hard wear or abrasive resisting material.

This arrangement permits very close mounting of the truck unit beneath the channel members [6 and IQ of the body unit, something of great importance in mine cars for use in chambers having low ceilinngs. This i in part accomplished by locating the major portion of the rollers l3 in the channel 21 of the bolster 24, and using flat wear plates [4.

The mounting assembly 12, in the example shown, is particularly well adapted to this close mounting of the truck unit beneath the frame members of the body unit, and to permit ease of access to dismember the car if necessary for shipment, repair etc. It comprises a rocker pin 43 having a horizontal axis 45 extending crosswise of the car as shown in Fig. 4; support means 45 for pin 43; a center plate 45; a mounting unit 4'1 for cooperation with the rocker pin and center plate 46; and a stop device 48 associated with the mounting unit 41.

The support means 45, in the example shown, comprises two spaced apart bracket members 50 preferably secured one to each of the flanges 18 at the inner face thereof, as by weld each bracket being provided with a transverse opening 52, to receive the rocker pin 43. In order to locate the rocker pin 43 in close proximity to the under face of-deck plate l5 and to afford further support for the rocker pin it is preferred to provide a notch 53 in each flange 18 of the channel member [5, open to the bottom of the flange and to the opening 52 of its adjacent bracket 50, and of a size to conform to the contour of the upper portion of its respective opening 52 as shown in Figs. 44', inclusive. Thus at least the major portion of the rocker pin may be disposed in the channel If} 22 and the former bears upwardly against the inner portion of the notches 53 and is embraced by the notched portions of the flanges l8.

The rocker pin 33 is preferably in the form of a bolt having a head 56 and a shank 55, the end of the shank opposite the head being provided with a screw thread 56 for receiving a nut 51. Washers 58 may be interposed between the head 54 and the nut 51 and the outer sides of their respective flange l8. A look pin 59 may extend thru the nut 51' and threaded end of the shank 55 to keep the nut from working loose.

The center plate 45 is somewhat similar to the center plates used in ordinary car construction for supporting the car body on the truck and comprises a plate-like body portion GI and an upstanding annular flange or male member 62 surrounding a central opening 63 which extends thru the body portion 5!. The plate 46 is, in the example shown, located in the bottom of channel 27 of the bolster 26, the web 25 of the latter being provided with a central opening 65 aligned with opening 63. The body portion Bl preferably extends the entire width of channel 21 so as to engage the confronting faces of flanges 26, as shown in Fig. 6 and may be held in place by welds 65.

Referring now to the mounting unit 41, it comprises sleeve portion 6'! oscillatably mounted on the rocker pin 43 between the bracket members 58; a center plate portion 88 for cooperation with center plate 46, located below the sleeve portion 6'! and provided with a downwardly extending annular flange 59 providing a downwardly opening recess 70 for receiving the annular flange 62 of center plate 46; and a king bolt portion H depending from center plate portion 56, the portion H being provided with a reduced screw threaded terminal portion 12 providing a downwardly facing shoulder '13 shown in Fig. 7. It is preferred to interpose an oilless washer 14 between the top face of flange 62 and the inner face of recess 10, surrounding the king bolt portion H, and an oilless washer 15 interposed between the lower face of flange S9 and the upper face of body portion iii of center plate 46, surrounding the annular flange B2.

In the preferred construction, there is surface to surface contact between the outer circumferential surface of annular flange 82 and the inner circumferential surface of flange 69, and the king bolt, which extends downwardly thru the openings 63 and 64, is of less diameter than said openings so that while the truck turns about the king bolt, the stress is taken by the center plate 46 and center plate portion 68. Also, the load imposed upon the truck is sustained mainly by the side bearing roller l3 and wear plates l4, so that little wear comes upon the washers l4 and 75.

The king bolt is of a length to extend downwardly below the web 25 and the shoulder 13 is normally spaced below the lower surface of the web and center plate 46, so that the stop device 68, in the form of a nut on the screw threaded terminal portion 12 engaging said shoulder will be spaced, as indicated at 16, from the web and will function to permit lifting of the truck unit with the body unit when the latter is lifted, by the contact of the stop device or nut 48 with the under face of web 25 as shown in Fig. '7. A lock pin 7'. may extend thru the lock device and king bolt to keep the former from working loose.

It will be noted from Fig. 4 that this arrangement permits close mounting of the truck with respect to the car body, the major portions of the rollers [-3 being located in the channel 2'! of the truck bolster 24 and the mounting assembly l2 being mainly located in the channels 22 and 2? of the body channel member l8 and the bolster 24, respectively.

Also, by reference to Figs. 1 and 4, it will be noted that if the car moves over slightly uneven track, the spring mountings 33 of the truck will permit the axles 3i and wheels 32 to move relative to the truck frame 23 to compensate for such uneven track, but if there is a major or abrupt incline in the track, or considerable depression, the truck itself will swing on the rocker pin 43. However, the axes 39 of the rollers [3 being below the axis 44- of the rocker pin, the rollers will move upwardly, that is, the axes 39 will be in a horizontal plane closer to horizontal plane of axis 44, and since the rollers l3 engage the under fiat faces of wear plates ill, there will be a slight separation indicated at 13 and 79 in Fig. '7, of the center plate 46 and center plate portion 68, limited only by the stop device 48.

The economical operation of all track mounted mine equipment depends greatly upon good road ability or a minimum or delays, due to equipment derailment. In large double truck, eight wheel mine cars, it is necessary to have flexibility in order to limit the number of derailments to minimum. It is also necessary to conserve space between the trucks and car body to provide a car having considerable bulk load carrying capacity, consistent with the low overall height for operation in low ceiling chambers and ways. The present invention meets these requirements, since it permits the truck to swing about a vertical axis as well as about a horizontal axis in order to adapt itself to major or abrupt inclines or depressions in the track.

I claim:

1. In a mine or industrial railway car the combination of a body unit; a truck unit; spaced side bearing rollers carried by one of said units and having fixed axes of rotation with respect thereto; companion spaced fiat wear plates engaging said rollers, immovably carried by the other of said units; and a combined rocker, center plate and king bolt device connecting said body and truck units between said side bearing rollers and Wear plates, whereby oscillation of the truck unit about an axis transversally of the body unit, swinging movement of the truck unit about an upright axis, combined oscillating and swinging movement of the truck unit with respect to the body unit may take place, and means comprising a stop device on the lower end of the king bolt below a portion of the truck unit for engaging therewith permitting limited vertical movement of the body unit with respect to the truck unit, all of said movements occurring while the body unit load is sustained upon the truck unit thru said side bearing rollers and wear plates.

2. In a mine or industrial railway car, the combination of a body unit; a truck unit; spaced side bearing rollers carried by one of said units and companion spaced wear plates engaging said rollers, carried by the other of said units; a center plate having a central opening carried by one of said units and an associated rocker pin carried by the other of said units with its axis extending horizontally crosswise of the car; and a mounting unit including a sleeve portion oscillatably mounted on said rocker pin, a center plate portion cooperating with said first named center plate for taking up the stresses incident to turning of the truck unit about an upright axis, a king bolt portion extending freely thru said opening of the first named center plate without engaging the same, and a stop device carried by said king bolt portion arranged to allow limited vertical movement of the latter with respect t said first named center plate.

3. In a mine or industrial railway car, the combination of a body unit; a truck unit; a pair of spaced coaxial side bearing rollers carried-by the truck unit; a pair of companion wear plates for said rollers, carried by the body unit, and having flat surfaces for engagement with the rollers; a center plate having a central opening carried by the truck unit, and an associated rocker pin carried by the body unit with its axis horizontal and located above the axes of said rollers; and a mounting unit including a sleeve portion oscillatably mounted on said rocker pin, a center plate portion for cooperation with said first named center plate for taking upthe stresses incident to turning of the truck about an upright axis, a king bolt portion depending from said center plate portion of the mounting unit, extending thru and vertically movable in said opening of the first named center plate; and a stop device on the lower end portion of said king bolt portion and normally spaced from the adjacent portion of the truck and its center plate to permit limited vertical movement of the units with respect to each other so that oscillation of the truck on said rocker pin may take place but connecting the body unit and truck unit for lifting the latter upon lifting the former.

In amine or industrial railway car, the combination of a body unit including a body bottom, and a central longitudinally extending member provided with a bottom opening channel; a truck unit including a bolster provided with an upwardly opening channel, said bolster in close proximity to said longitudinally extending member of the body unit; a pair of spaced apart, coaxial, side bearing rollers carried by said bolster and mainly disposed in said channel thereof;

a center plate having a central opening carried by said bolster at the bottom of said channel thereof; a rocker pin carried by said body unit extending crosswise said channel thereof; and a mounting unit including a sleeve portion oscillatably mounted on said rocker pin, a center plate portion cooperating with said first named center plate for taking up the stresses incident to turning of the truck unit about an upright axis, a king bolt portion extending thru said opening of the first named center plate, and a stop device carried by said king bolt portion arranged to allow limited vertical movement of the latter with respect to said first named center plate.

5. In a mine or industrial railway car, the combination of a body unit; a truck unit including, a bolster comprising a horizontal Web and upstanding flanges in spaced apart relation to provide upwardly opening pockets at the ends thereof, and a roller partially accommodated in each of said pockets and provided with an axle supported by the bolster; a longitudinally extending channel member under the body unit carrying a COupling member in its outer end, wear plates secured to the body unit for engagement by the rollers in the pockets in the ends of bolster, and a vertically and laterally pivotal mounting unit substantially enclosed within the mid portion of the bolster and the longitudinal channel, and connections between said mounting unit and bol- 7 ster web and the flanges of the longitudinally Number extending channel. 1,778,957 PAUL LAUKUS, SR. 1,832,754 2,007,041 REFERENCES CITED 5 2,213,2 1 The following references are of record in the 2,218,262 file of this patent: 2,236,967

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 10 Number 1,101,110 Wood June 23, 1914 26,671 1,325,609 Bauer Dec. 23, 1919 26,956 1,371,586 Westlake Mar. 15, 1921 320,699 1,377,020 Morse May 3, 1921 408,316 1,645,271 Alben Oct. 11, 1927 15 Name Date Olander Oct. 21, 1930 Veth Nov. 17, 1931 Dorsey July 2, 1935 Fritzsch Oct. 15, 1940 Fritzsch Oct. 15, 1940 Kepner June 16, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Apr. 2, 1886 Austria Jan. 10, 1907 Germany Apr. 23, 1918 England Apr. 6, 1934 

